The plants of middle earth

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Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Of course, if you want to associate Sauron with such companies . . .

Santa, Sauron - made that connection elsewhere, and all because of cats. And the genetic engineering is just to help people avoid the messiness from dyeing the cat's hair red.

Is the fireweed noted by the Hobbits journeying through the old forest a relative of Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) ?

There's another native plant for which I cannot find the name that has orange leaves in the fall that reminds me of the fireweed. As kids we used the dust on the leaves to paint our skin orange (not recommended, as it's probably poisonous to normal humans).